The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 264: Ice Sculpture

Chapter 264: Ice Sculpture

"Is it time for the arrival of winter?" Annalise asked as she watched Valerius activate the ice core. The immediate shift in the atmosphere also didn’t go unnoticed by her. At this point, it was more than clear that she could sense the energy shift around her and the presence of various elements.

"Come here," Valerius said instead of directly answering her question as he turned toward her with his hand stretched out for her to accept.

Annalise switched her attention between her husband and the tree before she finally took a step forward, eventually making her way to Valerius and accepting his waiting hand.

The Crown Prince of the Midnight Realm and the heir of Ice, meaning the soon-to-be Winter King, made her step closer to the tree before he pointed at the ice core and made her notice the blue and silvery patterns that had started forming around it.

"It takes around a week for these patterns to cover this entire tree from the very top to the very bottom of its roots. Once this period of one week will pass, winter will finally arrive in the Midnight Realm before slowly spreading across the rest of the realms and empires two weeks after that. We still have around a month back at the castle to enjoy the ending of autumn."

Annalise nodded her head in understanding, making plans in her head to spend more time outside in the sun once she would return to the castle, a place she had come to love as her home over the past couple of months.

The two of them sat there under the tree for a while as they enjoyed the beautiful morning view and the slight chilliness in the atmosphere before it was finally time for them to return to the palace.

"Let’s go on a short ride before we return to the palace," Valerius told her after both of them were settled on Eirwen’s back who was already spreading its wings to launch into the air.

Annalise wanted to ask what he meant by a short ride but her words turned into a bone-chilling scream when the dragon jumped down the cliff instead of taking off into the sky. It was nothing less than a miracle that she was still alive after that horrifying experience.

It took more than just a couple of minutes to calm down enough to hear Valerius chuckling behind her as he kept his arms tightly wrapped around her like a protective blanket.

"Aren’t you enjoying this way too much?" She didn’t hold back at all as she clearly displayed her unhappiness and anger toward him and his dragon while glaring at him over her shoulder.

The smile immediately disappeared from Valerius’ lips as soon as he noticed the look on her face and he didn’t waste any time in accepting his fault. "My apologies, dear wife. Such a thing won’t happen again, I’m giving you my word. Just don’t be mad."

He almost appeared serious about his promise which helped Annalise to calm down a little bit but she didn’t forgive him immediately. Instead, she just turned her attention to the front and watched as they headed toward the Capital City.

Since the morning had already arrived, the previously dark and silent streets of the city had started filling with people as most of them were heading to their work.

They flew over tall buildings, and street after street, circling the market area and the City Square, successfully attracting people’s attention toward them and giving nearly everyone a morning surprise.

"Do you think it’s a good idea? I mean flying a dragon over the city and letting everyone see us?" Annalise couldn’t help but feel hesitant after all the attention they had garnered in just a couple of moments because of the dragon. Every face that caught her attention was covered with pure shock and alarm.

"Though they haven’t seen Eirwen probably in centuries, he isn’t the main reason behind their shock," Valerius told her as he patted the dragon as if to signal it something. "They obviously recognized Eirwen, which means they recognized me too. What really surprises them... it’s you."

Annalise was silent for the next couple of moments as she watched Eirwen finally turn toward the direction of the Winter Palace and head away from the crowd that had gathered down below on the street to take a better look at them. "You did this on purpose, right?" She finally asked.

"Of course, they need to know that their future queen has arrived," Valerius whispered back in response and his words made Annalise think about the future that was awaiting her. She never expected to be suddenly given such a big title and a crown that she never expected to wear.

She didn’t get enough time to ponder on the matter as her attention was shifted toward the palace which was getting closer with every passing moment. Thankfully, Eirwen didn’t head toward the main palace and instead took a turn toward the Winter Palace.

She must have been pretty obvious about her anxiety about facing the Queen because Valerius quickly stated, "Don’t worry too much. You will only be meeting the queen and I’m sure you both will like each other."

"Are you sure your mother will like me?" Annalise found herself asking with uncertainty and anxiety clearly evident in her voice.

Valerius chuckled softly as he answered, "Trust me, it’s impossible not to like you."

A small smile broke out on Annalise’s lips at his words and even though it didn’t really give her any motivation to face the Midnight Queen, it surely helped in making her feel slightly less anxious.

It didn’t take too long before Eirwen landed in the front garden of the Winter Palace. Valerius was the first to jump before he moved to help Annalise.

"They are here..."

Damien and Kenric were waiting right there as Annalise and Valerius made their way toward the entrance that would take them toward the inner court of the inner courtyard of the Winter Palace.

Since it was daytime, though the early morning, the outside world was cascaded with the bright sunlight that allowed Annalise to see the huge front garden and the ice statue that she missed looking at properly the night before.

It was a beautiful sculpture of a man and a woman who looked so much in love as they stared at something far at the horizon with smiles covering their lips and wrinkles in their eyes.

The Princes noticed her staring at the sculpture and it was Valerius who decided to provide her with some information about the ice statue. "They are the previous Winter King and the current Queen of this realm."

Annalise processed his words and once the realization hit her, she turned to state at her husband with shock clearly visible in her eyes. "You mean your father and mother?" It wasn’t exactly a question but it still came out as one which made all three Princes chuckle.

Kenric was immediately beside her as he wrapped one of his arms around her and brought her closer to him as he whispered into her ear - "Sometimes, you are really slow, Little Bird."

Annalise didn’t need to even look at his face to know that the Third Prince was clearly teasing her. She just let out a huff and completely ignored him.

"Are you nervous about your meeting with Mother?" This time the one who spoke was none other than Damien who hadn’t taken his eyes off her even for a second ever since she landed from Eirwen.

A deep sigh escaped Annalise’s lips as she slowly nodded her head in affirmative while looking with pleading eyes at the Second Prince as if she was expecting him to somehow save her from the trouble of meeting their mother.

Damien closed the space between the two of them and moved to stand right in front of her. He took hold of her hands as he spoke in the softest tone he could utter - "Don’t worry too much, Princess. Our mother isn’t that hard to deal with. Besides, she seems to like you already, and most importantly, all three of us will be there with you. Don’t give yourself too much of a hard time over this."

His words did comfort her to some point but they were still not able to take away all her anxiety. There was possibly nothing that could stop her from feeling nervous before she would be done with the meeting.

Still, she put on a small smile on her lips in appreciation of the comfort that her husband tried to provide her. She knew that they all could feel her nervousness through the bond and because she was unsettled, she was making them worry too.

Damien understood her without her having to say anything out loud - their soulmate bond created that level of deep understanding between them.

"Alright, let’s go inside to get ready for our first family lunch together with the Midnight Queen."